Today in the Sobel Timeline: March 9

On March 9, 1870, a revolution broke out in the capital of the national of Guatemala. The revolt was led by Senator Vicente Martinez, a longtime opponent of Guatemalan President Miguel Rubio. Martinez was backed by Kramer Associates, a San Francisco-based consortium that sought to finance a canal across Guatemala. President Rubio had awarded the concession to build a canal to a German consortium, and the revolution was K.A. President Bernard Kramer's solution to the impasse.